Red Wings 4, Coyotes 2

DETROIT,MI- APRIL 13: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his 2nd period goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at at Joe Louis Arena on April 13, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Pavel Datsyuk

DETROIT,MI- APRIL 13: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his 2nd period goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at at Joe Louis Arena on April 13, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

DETROIT (AP) – Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen scored midway through the second period to put the Detroit Red Wings ahead, and they went on to beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 Wednesday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler padded Detroit’s lead late in the second period and early in the third.

Jimmy Howard made 26 saves for the third-seeded Red Wings.

Kyle Turris scored 2:16 in to put Phoenix ahead in his playoff debut. Radim Vrbata had a goal midway through the third period to pull the sixth-seeded Coyotes within two goals, but they couldn’t get any closer.

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